Friday, March 15, 2013

New Pattern: Lotus Drop Earrings

Here is my latest pattern, the Lotus Drop Earrings. Here is the first pair, made with cubic right angle weave (CRAW). I fell in love with the design, but I wasn't looking forward to writing another pattern with CRAW. You can see the back is different from the front.

I also made this pair to illustrate how you can add wire wrapped drop beads that dangle from the bottom point.

See how small they are, a great size for earrings, I think.

When I showed them to Florence, she liked them too, but I when I told her that I really didn't want to write another pattern with CRAW, she had the brilliant suggestion to redesign them to remove the CRAW. Then she proceed to make me a prototype that gave nearly the same result, but with a different stitching pattern. I tweaked them a bit more and made this pair. Between the two of us, we came up with a design that's thinner than the others, and a bit lighter too. It doesn't have any extra beads that don't need to be there, and it still has just enough thickness to give them some structure so they don't bend. They're rigid, little components.

Then I made this pair with real gemstones and gold plaited charlotte seed beads. With the improved design, they're not only easier to make, but the crystals in the windows don't have beads behind them. So they really sparkle.

Aren't they pretty? My mom really fell in love with this pair. So if they don't sell before her birthday, I know what she's getting this year.

Here's the one kit I have made so far. The pattern explains how to make both the large and small lotus drop components in these earrings.

Here you can see how big they are, just the right size for long earrings, I think. In fact, they're my new favorite earrings. They're not too heavy, and the links make them drape beautifully. I feel like a movie star when I wear them!

These little components are really fun to link together and hang things from. If you want the earrings, click the photos. If you want to learn how to make your own, my pattern is very detailed with 16 pages and 81 color illustrations and photographs, including 5 full pages of variations and inspirations. Also, look out for my next blog post, and I'll show you some more complicated things you can do with Lotus Drops. Thanks for looking.